Kiki Smith: Best known for provocative depictions of the female body, Kiki Smith has explored a broad range of subjects, including religion, folklore, mythology, natural science, art history, and feminism. By turns intimate, universal, visceral, and fragile, Smith’s art renders the figure in frank, nonheroic terms, expressing its dual aspects of vulnerability and strength. Smith uses a wide variety of media, seeking out equivalences between the body and materials of art — the fragility and imperfections of skin and handmade papers, for example, or the fleshy, organic volumes of wax and plaster. Organized in close collaboration with the artist, this full-scale survey of her 20-year career includes nearly 100 objects grouped into thematic clusters she refers to as "gatherings," with works in plaster, bronze, paper, glass, and ceramic, as well as installations, prints, drawings, and photographs.

Book SigningChuck Close and Kiki SmithNovember 19, 20054:00 p.m.The Schwab RoomArtists Chuck Close and Kiki Smith will be in The Schwab Room to sign copies of Chuck Close: Self-Portraits 1967–2005 and Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980–2005.

Chuck Close: Self-Portraits 1967–2005, boasts 100 color and 50 black-and-white images of Close's dazzling self-portraits. Highlighting nearly 40 years of Close's work, the book features essays by Curators Madeleine Grynsztejn and Siri Engberg. Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980–2005, presents an array of Smith's work — including sculptures, works on paper, prints, and paintings — contextualized by essays from exhibition curator Siri Engberg, Linda Nochlin, and Marina Warner and an interview with the artist.